"Kaido!!"
A suppressed, low voice spat out from his mouth, carrying deep-seated hatred.
This man wore clothing of the opposite sex, with heart-shaped lipstick painted on his lips. His complexion was pale, and his hair was styled like a Shimada chonmage.
He was dressed in a pink kimono, with a Japanese-style spotted red cloth tied irregularly around his waist.
Izou, the Sixteenth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!!
Formerly a retainer of the Kozuki Family, he had pledged his loyalty to Kozuki Oden!
After Kozuki Oden joined the Roger Pirates, Izou, who greatly enjoyed the atmosphere of the Whitebeard Pirates, chose to remain with them, becoming the commander of the Sixteenth Division.
Even so, his deep bond with Kozuki Oden remained.
Therefore—
Others might not recognize who that black dragon above was, but he definitely could!!
Because a debt of blood and vengeance stood between him and that man!
His former lord, Kozuki Oden, had died at the hands of Kaido.
Even if Kaido were ground to ashes, he could still identify him, let alone a simple color change.
With this in mind, Izou immediately drew his weapons, two flintlock pistols, and bullets coated in Armament Haki continuously fired from both guns, all of them heading straight for Kaido above.
A series of muffled sounds rang out, as if fireworks were going off in the sky.
After a long while, the commotion gradually subsided, and thick smoke and dust filled the heavens. Everyone curiously gazed upward, trying to see what was happening.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura violently erupted, scattering all the smoke and dust, once again revealing the figure of the "Black Dragon" within.
"Oro ro ro ro..."
"Newgate, are all you brats of the Whitebeard Pirates so polite?!"
"Is this the lavish welcome gift you give right off the bat?"
"So it really is Kaido!!"
Aboard the Moby Dick, the commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were somewhat stunned.
They couldn't be certain based on appearance alone, but they could recognize that voice.
Whitebeard's gaze was calm as he looked up.
"Kaido, barging towards our Whitebeard Pirates so brazenly, do you want to sink to the bottom of the sea?"
"I wasn't aware that our relationship had ever become good enough for you to so blatantly intrude into my territory!"
"Oro ro ro ro!"
"I just ran into an old acquaintance and came over to say hello!"
Kaido let out a loud laugh and spoke.
"And to check out when you, Whitebeard, are going to die!
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere on the Moby Dick instantly grew tense, and immediately after, the commanders under Whitebeard started hurling curses.
"Kaido, you stinking caterpillar, what the hell are you yapping about?!"
"My father will outlive your son, you bastard! Your grandson will be dead and gone, and my father will still be standing! Who the hell are you to curse our father like that?!"
"Yeah, you're all black and sooty like a lump of coal, what's the matter, did you just crawl out of some shit-filled pit?!"
...
!!
Hearing these words, Kaido's gaze sharpened, and a powerful force erupted from his body.
"You bastards..."
"Blast Breath!!"
Before finishing his words, Kaido abruptly spewed a massive pillar of fire from his mouth, heading straight for the Moby Dick below.
"As if I'm afraid of you!"
Jozu roared loudly, stepping forward as diamonds sparkled across his body, his legs slightly bent.
He intended to use his physical body to withstand Kaido's attack head-on.
But just then, a figure suddenly flashed past from above them.
Boom—
Up above, Whitebeard's fist slammed heavily into the air. The air itself cracked like a mirror, splitting with countless fissures.
Kaido's Blast Breath came to an abrupt halt, a massive void forming between Whitebeard and the pillar of fire.
It seemed as if something invisible was blocking it, completely unable to break through.
Suddenly, Whitebeard let out a great roar, the veins on his arms bulging fiercely. Power erupted from his fist, and the cracks in the air wall instantly expanded several times over.
A terrifying shockwave burst forth, extinguishing Kaido's Blast Breath. The pillar of fire shortened inch by inch as the shockwave continuously closed in on Kaido.
!!
Kaido's pupils dilated slightly. Just as he was about to dodge this attack, purple lightning suddenly flickered across the wounds on his body.
In an instant, Kaido's body stiffened.
By the time he reacted, Whitebeard's shockwave was already upon him, leaving no room to evade.
Bam—
The shockwave struck Kaido directly. His massive form was instantly sent flying as if launched, hurtling backwards into the distance like a stretched-out rope.
"Huh?!"
Seeing this, Whitebeard was momentarily taken aback.
He hadn't expected that Kaido would be unable to evade even this attack. His eyes narrowed slightly as he murmured softly:
"Who was that bastard fighting just now?"
He could sense that Kaido's presence was somewhat disordered; he was not in his peak condition.
For a moment, Whitebeard was curious. Who had managed to injure that brute Kaido?
Judging by the state Kaido was in...
Which fire-wielding expert?!
Hmm...
Whitebeard fell silent, his thoughts churning as he considered possible individuals who could have inflicted such damage on Kaido. After a long moment, he spoke uncertainly:
"That magma brat from the Marines?!"
After much deliberation, Whitebeard arrived at this answer.
Besides Akainu's magma, he couldn't recall any other expert who was particularly skilled with fire!
"Oh!!!"
Suddenly, a roar came from the distant sky. Looking up, they saw Kaido flying back towards the Moby Dick once more.
Whitebeard raised his hand and made a fist.
A white, dome-shaped sphere shot out from his knuckles.
He couldn't be bothered to think about the specifics right now. He only knew that since Kaido had come to provoke his crew, what he needed to do was send this bastard Kaido to the bottom of the sea.
However, just as he was about to strike, Kaido's shout reached him.
"Wait, Whitebeard!"
"I have no intention of fighting you right now!!"
Kaido arrived in the sky not far from the Moby Dick, his massive body circling as he gazed down at Whitebeard.
Being hit by Whitebeard's shockwave earlier had aggravated his injuries slightly. Although the impact wasn't particularly significant, he currently had absolutely no desire to fight Whitebeard.
That old bastard Whitebeard still packed a painful punch.
What he wanted now was to see if he could team up with Whitebeard to go after Kyle.
Currently, his greatest desire was to recover his pride from Kyle.
But Whitebeard clearly didn't see it that way. He stared at Kaido, and the white dome on his fist didn't shrink in the slightest; instead, it doubled in size again.
"I don't give a damn whether you intend to fight or not!"
"Since you just made a move against my adorable sons, you are now an enemy of the Whitebeard Pirates!!"
For Whitebeard, the bond from their days together on the Rocks Pirates with Kaido had long since dwindled to almost nothing over the years, especially after the man killed Kozuki Oden.
Ordinarily, if their two crews encountered each other on the sea, they would be enemies.
Let alone the fact that Kaido had just attacked!
His sons attacking Kaido was an act of self-defense and probing, but Kaido making a move against his sons—that changed the nature of things entirely!!
Whitebeard let out a great roar:
"Get down here, Kaido!!!"
As the words fell, his fist smashed outwards.
Boom!!!
...
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